Related Content

Fire officials said they received several 911 calls about 8 p.m. Monday after heavy smoke and fire were seen shooting from the back of a building on Maple Street.

"It started at the back of the building, and it just grew," said witness Ron Vance. "It was massive, you know?"

When firefighters arrived, they were unable to go inside, so they tried to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to nearby buildings. At least one of those buildings had to be evacuated because of the flames.

John Greenwood lives in the apartment building across the street and was home with his girlfriend's 7-year-old son, Dylan, when the fire started.

"We were sitting here just waiting, and at 9:30, they came, knocked on the door and said, 'We need you to evacuate the building,'" Greenwood said. "So, we grabbed the little one and the animals and left."

The damaged or destroyed buildings included an auto repair shop and an industrial painting business.

Firefighters said they were concerned about potentially hazardous chemicals inside the building, and they called in the Department of Environmental Services to check water sources in the area.

"We had 75 firefighters from a number of towns from the region," said Derry Fire Chief George Klauber. "We had no injuries to any firefighters or to anybody in the area."

It took about four-and-a-half hours for the fire to be brought under control. Fire officials said that while the cause of the fire is under investigation, there's no reason to think it's suspicious.